Stochastic electron acceleration during the near-infrared and X-ray flares in Sagittarius A*

被引:51
作者
Liu, SM [1 ]
Melia, F
Petrosian, V
机构
[1] Stanford Univ, Ctr Space Sci & Astrophys, Dept Phys, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
[2] Univ Arizona, Dept Phys, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
[3] Univ Arizona, Steward Observ, Tucson, AZ 85721 USA
[4] Stanford Univ, Dept Appl Phys, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
关键词
acceleration of particles; black hole physics; Galaxy : center; plasmas; turbulence;
D O I
10.1086/498128
中图分类号
P1 [天文学];
学科分类号
0704 ;
摘要
Recent near-IR (NIR) and X-ray observations of Sagittarius A*'s spectrum have yielded several strong constraints on the transient energizing mechanism, justifying a reexamination of the stochastic acceleration model proposed previously for these events. We here demonstrate that the new results are fully consistent with the acceleration of electrons via the transit-time damping process. But more importantly, these new NIR and X-ray flares now can constrain the source size, the gas density, the magnetic field, and the wave energy density in the turbulent plasma. Future simultaneous multiwavelength observations with good spectral information will, in addition, allow us to study their temporal evolution, which will eventually lead to an accurate determination of the behavior of the plasma just minutes prior to its absorption by the black hole.
引用
收藏
页码:798 / 803
页数:6
相关论文
共 30 条
  • [1] DISPERSION SURFACES
    ANDRE, M
    [J]. JOURNAL OF PLASMA PHYSICS, 1985, 33 (FEB) : 1 - 19
  • [2] X-ray flares reveal mass and angular momentum of the Galactic Center black hole
    Aschenbach, B
    Grosso, N
    Porquet, D
    Predehl, P
    [J]. ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS, 2004, 417 (01): : 71 - 78
  • [3] Chandra X-ray spectroscopic imaging of Sagittarius A* and the central parsec of the Galaxy
    Baganoff, FK
    Maeda, Y
    Morris, M
    Bautz, MW
    Brandt, WN
    Cui, W
    Doty, JP
    Feigelson, ED
    Garmire, GP
    Pravdo, SH
    Ricker, GR
    Townsley, LK
    [J]. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2003, 591 (02) : 891 - 915
  • [4] Rapid X-ray flaring from the direction of the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Centre
    Baganoff, FK
    Bautz, MW
    Brandt, WN
    Chartas, G
    Feigelson, ED
    Garmire, GP
    Maeda, Y
    Morris, M
    Ricker, GR
    Townsley, LK
    Walter, F
    [J]. NATURE, 2001, 413 (6851) : 45 - 48
  • [5] Repeated X-ray flaring activity in Sagittarius A
    Bélanger, G
    Goldwurm, A
    Melia, F
    Ferrando, P
    Grosso, N
    Porquet, D
    Warwick, R
    Yusef-Zadeh, F
    [J]. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2005, 635 (02) : 1095 - 1102
  • [6] BELANGER G, 2005, UNPUB APJ
  • [7] First simultaneous NIR/X-ray detection of a flare from Sgr A
    Eckart, A
    Baganoff, FK
    Morris, M
    Bautz, MW
    Brandt, WN
    Garmire, GP
    Genzel, R
    Ott, T
    Ricker, GR
    Straubmeier, C
    Viehmann, T
    Schödel, R
    Bower, GC
    Goldston, JE
    [J]. ASTRONOMY & ASTROPHYSICS, 2004, 427 (01) : 1 - 11
  • [8] Sinfoni in the Galactic center:: Young stars and infrared flares in the central light-month
    Eisenhauer, F
    Genzel, R
    Alexander, T
    Abuter, R
    Paumard, T
    Ott, T
    Gilbert, A
    Gillessen, S
    Horrobin, M
    Trippe, S
    Bonnet, H
    Dumas, C
    Hubin, N
    Kaufer, A
    Kissler-Patig, M
    Monnet, G
    Ströbele, S
    Szeifert, T
    Eckart, A
    Schödel, R
    Zucker, S
    [J]. ASTROPHYSICAL JOURNAL, 2005, 628 (01) : 246 - 259
  • [9] Falcke H, 2000, ASTRON ASTROPHYS, V362, P113
  • [10] Near-infrared flares from accreting gas around the supermassive black hole at the Galactic Centre
    Genzel, R
    Schödel, R
    Ott, T
    Eckart, A
    Alexander, T
    Lacombe, F
    Rouan, D
    Aschenbach, B
    [J]. NATURE, 2003, 425 (6961) : 934 - 937